After a rocky first three weeks, fan confidence in the prospects of the Carolina Panthers has been through the roof for the 2026 season. A 3-2 record behind stellar quarterback play has raised everybody’s hopes and expectations in spite of a rash of injuries to key players.

A full 96% of fans think the Panthers are currently heading in the right direction. 94% said that they think the Panthers will win the NFC South this year, which is an automatic playoff berth. Keep in mind that, heading into Sunday, the Panthers are hanging on to the number three seed in the NFC playoff race. They are legitimate contenders at this point in the season.

Y’all seem on board with that thinking as 82% of fans predicted a winning season this week. 72% are calling for 9-11 wins, while an insane 10% of y’all say 12 or more wins are likely. That kind of season would have us circling Week 13 against the Minnesota Vikings (5-0, current first seed in the NFC) and Week 17 against the Seattle Seahawks (3-3, reigning Super Bowl Champions) as two of the biggest games left on the schedule for both wildcard and playoff seeding scenarios.

First, of course, the Panthers have two games in the next six days. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may be bad, but they are still an NFL team in a divisional game. Anything can happen. After that the Panthers face the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football at Lambeau. This may be the most difficult stretch of their schedule this year, from a purely logistical perspective. It may also be the most telling. I can’t wait to see what they’ll do.

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